England women continued their rich scoring form with a 7-2 rout over Austria in Friday’s friendly in Spain.
The match at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador followed their 6-0 away victory over Scotland in the UEFA Nations League back in December.
Beth Mead and Alessia Russo netted doubles for the Lionesses, while goals from Clinton and substitutes Jess Carter and Rachel Daly completed the victory.
Embed from Getty ImagesAbove: England celebrate after Clinton doubles their lead against Austria.
Clinton: ‘It’s what dreams are made of’
Clinton could not hide her pride post-match after scoring on her first game representing her country.
The 20-year-old admitted she did not expect the goal to come in the manner that it did but nevertheless is buoyed by her dream start in an England kit.
“I didn’t know it [her first England goal] would be with my head, but I’m absolutely buzzing,” she told ITV Sport post-match.
“It was probably the biggest game of my career so far so for it to go like that, I’m very happy.”
Clinton, who traditionally plays in a more attacking role, found herself playing in the eight by England manager Sarina Wiegman but was undeterred in contributing to the England rout.
“Sarina told me at the start of the week that she was gonna try me in the eight so, I’m open to the challenge,” she told ITV.
“It’s really nice to be deeper and get on the ball which is what I want to do. To be in there playing with Gee [Georgia Stanway] and Tooney [Ella Toone], they really helped me out a lot.”
England start fast in Spain:
The Lionesses got off to a lightning start when Russo found her Arsenal teammate Mead on the right-hand side. Mead’s shot was spilled by goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger for Russo to tap home in just under three minutes.
Clinton almost bagged her first England goal in under 15 minutes but her left-footed shot from outside the area rebounded off the woodwork.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, on loan from Manchester United, secured her dream debut just three minutes later however when she headed in a Lauren Hemp cross to double her country’s lead.
Austria pulled a goal back before the half-hour mark when Virginia Kirchberger headed in from a corner, but Mead restored her side’s two goal lead with a left-footed finish in the 36th minute.
Embed from Getty ImagesAbove: Russo gives England the lead after just three minutes in Spain.
England started fast after the break when midfielder Georgia Stanway caught the Austrians lacking, intercepting the ball deep in the opposition half.
Her pass found striker Russo who duly tucked the ball away for her second of the match to give England a 4-1 lead.
Substitute Carter made it five when she flicked home from close range before Kirchberger netted another for Austria in the closing minutes.
Late strikes from Mead and Daly made it 13 goals in two games for the Lionesses who take on Italy on Tuesday.
Qualifying for the 2025 European Championships gets underway in April. England previously won the tournament in 2022.
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